Progressive Study on the Non-thermal Effects of Magnetic Field Therapy in Oncology

Abstract

Cancer is one of the most common causes of death worldwide. Although the existing therapies have made great progress and significantly improved the prognosis of patients, it is undeniable that these treatment measures still cause some serious side effects. In this context, a new treatment method is needed to address these shortcomings. In recent years, the magnetic fields have been proposed as a novel treatment method with the advantages of less side effects, high efficiency, wide applications, and low costs without forming scars. Previous studies reported that static magnetic fields (SMFs) and low-frequency magnetic fields (LF-MFs, frequency below 300 Hz) exert anti-tumor function, independent of thermal effects. Magnetic fields (MFs) could inhibit cell growth and proliferation; induce cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, autophagy, and differentiation; regulate the immune system; and suppress angiogenesis and metastasis via various signaling pathways. In addition, they are effective in combination therapies: MFs not only promote the absorption of chemotherapy drugs by producing small holes on the surface of cell membrane but also enhance the inhibitory effects by regulating apoptosis and cell cycle related proteins. At present, MFs can be used as drug delivery systems to target magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) to tumors. This review aims to summarize and analyze the current knowledge of the pre-clinical studies of anti-tumor effects and their underlying mechanisms and discuss the prospects of the application of MF therapy in cancer prevention and treatment.

Non-Heating Alternating Magnetic Field Nanomechanical Stimulation of Biomolecule Structures via Magnetic Nanoparticles as the Basis for Future Low-Toxic Biomedical Applications

“…Experiments on cells and cell cultures showed the effectiveness of NMMA as a means of inducing apoptosis in cancer cells [ 36 , 37 , 41 , 42 ]. In addition, there is indirect evidence of the possible participation of drugs containing iron ions, or natural iron-containing proteins-ferritins, in the mechanisms of MF action in vivo [ 138 , 139 , 140 , 141 ]. Of course, for a reliable proof of the magnetomechanical origin of the effects observed in vivo, it is necessary to conduct targeted experiments with the introduction of optimally designed MNPs, with known magnetic characteristics and functional shells, into the body, as well as physically substantiated parameters of the activating AMF.…”

Differential biological responses of adherent and non-adherent (cancer and non-cancerous) cells to variable extremely low frequency magnetic fields

“…14 ). There has been a developing body of evidence revealing that ELF-EMF has various effects on cellular processes and functions, including important signaling pathways e.g., apoptosis, autophagy, proliferation, differentiation, and cell cycle 45 . However, it is not clear how ELF-EMF affects cell response.…”

“…These differences could be related to the distinct effect of cell type on the variable expression of stress-related genes. Accumulating evidence shows that ELF-EMF can induce autophagy and show a potent anti-tumor effect 45 . Xu et al 60 showed that ELF-EMF induced autophagy causes cell death and suppresses lung cancer through up-regulating miR-486 expression and inhibit AKT/mTOR signaling.…”

Cellular stress response to extremely low‐frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF‐EMF): An explanation for controversial effects of ELF‐EMF on apoptosis

“…As discussed above, a vast variety of densities ranging from a few micro Tesla up to tens of milli tesla have been applied in studies examining effects of ELF‐EMF on apoptosis. 184 , 185 , 186 In addition, in some cases, promotion of apoptosis by ELF‐EMF exposure was examined in the presence of a co‐stressor (eg chemotherapeutic agents). One obvious result of these studies is that contrary to chemotherapeutic agents, ELF‐EMF exposure does not demonstrate a clear dose–response pattern.…”